The Mount Pleasant Oilers are Saginaw Valley League North Champions once again.
Senior Mason Wojtusik poured in 31 points to lead the Oilers (16-0, 8-0) over the Saginaw Trojans (10-7, 6-2) 64-53, clinching the North for the second consecutive year.
Mount Pleasant was winless in Saginaw in the Dan Schell era coming into Friday night’s game, but they weren’t intimidated by the atmosphere early on. Wojtusik and Joe Ostrowsky combined for 17 points in the first quarter as the Oilers raced out to a 21-12 lead after one.
Saginaw countered in the second with a run of their own, fueled by senior Sir’Real Smith. He came alive with 12 points in the second quarter and the Trojans outscored the Oilers 17-11 to narrow the deficit to three at halftime.
The Saginaw run continued in the third quarter thanks once again to Smith, who wasn’t slowed down by the halftime break. He scored 10 of Saginaw’s 14 points in the third and played outstanding defense on the ballhandlers of Mount Pleasant. The Trojans took a 43-41 lead into the fourth quarter.
After a quiet third quarter where he only scored two points, Wojtusik erupted once again in the fourth to help Mount Pleasant take the lead back. The senior dropped 12 points in the fourth, seven of which came late at the free-throw line. Ostrowsky and Jack Payton hit crucial threes to extinguish any Saginaw comeback as Mount Pleasant pulled away for a 64-53 win.
SVL Championship Game
With the win, Mount Pleasant finishes with a perfect 8-0 record in the SVL North for the second consecutive year. The Oilers haven’t lost to a regular-season conference game since February 13, 2018, against Arthur Hill. They’ll face Grand Blanc (15-3, 8-0) in the championship game Friday, Feb. 28 at Bay City Western. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 PM.
For the girls’ championship, we have a rematch of last year’s game as Dow (17-2, 7-1) will play Carman-Ainsworth (15-3, 8-0). The Chargers won last year 48-41. Tip-off will be at 5:30 PM. Both games will be live on ESPN 100.9-FM.
Mount Pleasant Final Stats
Mason Wojtusik: 31 points
Joe Ostrowsky: 15 points
Tyler Huenemann: 9 points
Jack Payton: 4 points
Alec Mills: 3 points
Josh Schell: 2 points
Saginaw Final Stats
Sir’Real Smith: 27 points
Leeland Summers: 9 points
Lavell Brodnex: 6 points
Freddie McIntosh: 2 points
Armond Goods: 2 points
Derrick Campbell: 2 points
Tavarion Brown: 2 points
